H.M.S. Surprise: Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 3

At the opening of his third novel in an ongoing adventure series by Patrick O'Brian, Jack Aubrey is cruising off Cape Sicie when his friend Stephen Maturin (more serenely situated in Sussex) is informed of the Board's decision regarding Aubrey's prize money, taken after victorious engagement with a Spanish squadron at Cape Santa Maria. The money, five million pieces of eight, is not, as is the custom of war, to be divided among the crews of the four victorious vessels.

The Mauritius Command: Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 4

Lucky Jack Aubrey escapes the burdens of domesticity when he is appointed to the post of Admiral for an expedition to the coast of Madagascar where French frigates are threatening one of England's valued trade routes.

Post Captain: Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 2

The Peace of Amiens has left Jack Aubrey with no ship, no enemy to pursue, and no possibility of prize money to supplement his meager income. His decision to seek refuge from his troubles, and creditors, in France proves doubly disastrous.

Desolation Island: Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 5

Jack's prize money has set the household accounts aright, but if he continues frittering it on naive extravagances, it will be gone in a fortnight. Fortunately he gets a commission aboard the Leopard, bound for Australia to rescue the hated and captive Captain Bligh.

The Fortune of War: Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 6

The H.M.S. Leopard pulled into the bay of Pulo Batang looking more like a shabby merchant ship that a man-of-war. The crew had endured a calamitous voyage plagued by gaol-fever, pursued by the Dutch Waakzaamheid, and struck by an iceberg. Suffice it to say, Jack Aubrey was ready for home.

The Surgeon's Mate: Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 7

Jack Aubrey, Post Captain in the British Royal Navy, is suffused with happiness. The Shannon's engagement with the U.S. Chesapeake off the New England coast has resulted in victory, just another in a long string of them for Aubrey, nicknamed Lucky Jack for his tendency to win big. But Jack is less sure-footed by land than by sea.

The Ionian Mission: Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 8

Shoved into a temporary command in "that rotten old Worcester," Aubrey is off to the Mediterranean to join the Royal Navy's blockade of the French port of Toulon, where he will be dispatched by Admiral Harte (unfortunately the same Admiral Harte he cuckolded years ago) on a secret mission that promises to embroil Aubrey in political conflict. His friend Stephen's help notwithstanding, Aubrey faces some of the choppiest waters of his career.

Treason's Harbour: Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 9

The espionage activities of cunning ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin have kept him at odds with the most important French agent in the Mediterranean, Lesueur, a man with a long memory and a taste for revenge. When that revenge takes the shape of the delicate and distracting Mrs. Fielding, who also attracts the ever-wandering eye of Jack Aubrey, Stephen's sensibilities are severely tested.

Post Captain: Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 2

Post Captain is the second novel in Patrick O'Brian's beloved adventure series. In 1803 Napoleon smashes the Peace of Amiens, and Captain Jack Aubrey, Royal Navy, taking refuge in France from his creditors, is interned. He escapes from France, from debtors' prison, from a possible mutiny, and pursues his quarry straight into the mouth of a French-held-harbor.

The Far Side of the World: Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 10

The South Seas are a paradise for battle-weary Captain Jack Aubrey and ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin. But their peace is disturbed when Stephen's fancy for a peculiar marine organism lands him overboard. Acting in his usual headstrong fashion, Jack dives into the rescue, unfortunately failing to plan what will happen once they are both in the water watching the sails of the Surprise disappear in the mist.

Master and Commander: Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 1

This, the first in the splendid series of Jack Aubrey novels, establishes the friendship between Captain Aubrey, Royal Navy, and Stephen Maturin, ship's surgeon and intelligence agent, against the thrilling backdrop of the Napoleonic wars. Details of life aboard a man-of-war in Nelson's navy are faultlessly rendered: the conversational idiom of the officers in the ward room and the men on the lower deck, the food, the floggings, the mysteries of the wind and the rigging, and the road of broadsides as the great ships close in battle.

The Mauritius Command: Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 4

Captain Jack Aubrey is ashore on half pay without a command, until Stephen Maturin arrives with secret orders for Aubrey to take a frigate to the Cape of Good Hope under a commodore's pennant, there to mount an expedition against the French-held islands of Mauritius and La Reunion. But the difficulties of carrying out his orders are compounded by two of his own captains, Lord Clonfert, a pleasure-seeking dilettante, and Captain Corbett, whose severity pushes his crew to the verge of mutiny.

The Reverse of the Medal: Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 11

Jack Aubrey is back in London after a successful mission. On the advice of an acquaintance he uses the time to invest some of his prize money. However when the investments link him to London's powerful criminal element and land him in jail it looks as if he has lost his post captaincy and the H.M.S. Surprise. It is once again up to ship's surgeon and covert agent Stephen Maturin to rescue his hapless friend.

The Letter of Marque: Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 12

In The Letter of Marque, Jack is once again aboard his beloved Surprise but stripped of his post captaincy for a crime he did not commit. Bought by Stephen, the Surprise has become a privateer. Sailing into French waters, the two concoct a desperate mission which, if successful, may redeem Aubrey from his state of disgrace.

The Thirteen-Gun Salute: Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 13

Captain Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin set sail aboard the Diane for the South China Sea, shepherding a diplomatic mission to prevent links between Bonaparte and the Malay princes. If their mission fails, English merchant shipping in the area will be threatened. At the barbaric court of Pulo Prabang, the stage is set for a duel of intelligence agents, pitting the savage cunning of Stephen Maturin against the French envoys, who are already entrenched in the Sultan's favor.

The Nutmeg of Consolation: Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 14

When last seen, Jack and Stephen had been shipwrecked on a desert island in the glittering South China Sea. The Nutmeg of Consolation opens as the castaways fashion a makeshift vessel from the wreckage, only to have it destroyed in a fiery attack by Malay pirates. Only the wondrous ingenuity of Stephen, along with the unexpected appearance of one of Jack's oldest allies, leads them to escape, and to dubious safety in a penal colony at New South Wales.

The Truelove: Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 15

A British whaler has been captured by an ambitious chief in the Friendly Isles, and Captain Jack Aubrey is dispatched to restore order. But Jack must first contend with an escaped convict who has stowed away on the Surprise, an attractive female convict who is driving the crew to awkward courtliness and dangerous jealousies.

The Wine-Dark Sea: Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 16

At the outset of this adventure, Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin pursue a heavy American privateer through the Great South Sea. Their ship, the Surprise, is now also a privateer, the better to escape diplomatic complications from Stephen's mission, which is to ignite the revolutionary tinder of South America.

Desolation Island: Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 5

Commissioned to rescue Governor Bligh of Bounty fame, Captain Jack Aubrey and his friend, surgeon Stephen Maturin, sail the Leopard to Australia with a hold full of convicts. Among them is a beautiful and dangerous spy and a treacherous disease that decimates the crew. With a Dutch man-of-war to windward, the undermanned, outgunned Leopard sails for her life into the freezing waters of the Antarctic, where, in mountainous seas, the Dutchman closes in.

The Commodore: Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 17

After a dangerous tour of duty in the Great South Sea, Jack and Stephen finally return to their families in England. For Jack, the return is joyful, but for Stephen, it is heartbreaking. His wife, Diana, has left for parts unknown; his young daughter has all the symptoms of autism. To escape these painful circumstances, Stephen joins Jack on a bizarre decoy mission to the lagoons of the Gulf of Guinea.

The Yellow Admiral: Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 18

While surviving life-threatening adventures at sea, Captain Jack Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin find life on land to be even more perilous. Aubrey has dimmed his prospects of an admiralty by his erratic voting in Parliament. He is on even worse terms with his wife, Sophie, when his mother-in-law ferrets out a trove of old personal letters. Fortunately, Maturin brings news that the Chileans need the two seafaring friends to train their navy.

The Hundred Days: Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 19

Patrick O'Brian transports you to the high seas of the Napoleonic era when the French demagogue is making a desperate attempt to control the European world. While Napoleon pursues the British across Europe, rumors fly about him forging a secret link with the forces of Islam. Soon an ominous horde of Muslim mercenaries gather.

Master and Commander: Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 1

This, the first in the series of Jack Aubrey novels, establishes the friendship between Captain Aubrey, R.N., and Stephen Maturin, ship's surgeon and intelligence agent, against the thrilling backdrop of the Napoleonic wars. Details of life aboard a man-of-war in Nelson's navy are faultlessly rendered: the conversational idiom of the officers in the ward room and the men on the lower deck, the food, the floggings, the mysteries of the wind and the rigging.

Blue at the Mizzen: Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 20

With his swashbuckling adventures, best-selling novelist Patrick O'Brian transports you to the high seas of old, where privateers lurk in the mist, and great ships fight to control the waterways. Blue at the Mizzen hoists the excitement to new heights as British frigate commander Jack Aubrey stakes everything on a desperate raid against the mighty Spanish fleet. Ever since Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo, Captain Aubrey's prospects in the new peacetime navy have looked dim.

The Fortune of War: Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 6

Captain Jack Aubrey, R.N., arrives in the Dutch East Indies to find himself appointed to the command of the fastest and best-armed frigate in the Royal Navy. He and his friend Stephen Maturin take passage for England in a dispatch vessel, but the War of 1812 breaks out while they are en route. Bloody actions precipitate them both into new and unexpected scenes where Stephen's past activities as a secret agent return on him with a vengeance.

Publisher's Summary

At the opening of his third novel in an ongoing adventure series by Patrick O'Brian, Jack Aubrey is cruising off Cape Sicie when his friend Stephen Maturin (more serenely situated in Sussex) is informed of the Board's decision regarding Aubrey's prize money, taken after victorious engagement with a Spanish squadron at Cape Santa Maria. The money, five million pieces of eight, is not, as is the custom of war, to be divided among the crews of the four victorious vessels, but is to be treated as droits of the Crown of England. Five million pounds is, after all, five million pounds.

It will be a hard rub for Aubrey, who had counted on that money to clear his debts and make himself a suitable match, but no more hard than for Maturin who spends much of his free time at Mapes Court in the company of the lovely Sophia Williams, Aubrey's betrothed. How could Stephen deliver the news that would break Sophia's heart?

When Jack docks at Portsmouth, he is clapped in irons forthwith, and carried off to a sponging house for debtors. Jack knows a prisoner can rot in jail, so when Sir Joseph graciously offers him escape aboard the H.M.S. Surprise, bound for the East Indies, he makes for the only place where his unsteady virtue remains intact: the sea.

If you enjoyed the first 2 books you'll love this one as well. Patrick Tull continues to provide really superb narration: he excels at weaving through the naval jargon, and pays particular attention to the dialog.

Patrick Tull and Simon Vance are both gifted narrators. However, when you start with one you may find it a jarring change when you start listening to the other. Each brings their own life to the characters, but it is a very different life. My own personal preference are the characters created by Mr. Tull, but Mr. Vance's acting is no less compelling, only different.
If you care about such things, don't make the mistake that I made, buying the edition without first checking by whom it is narrated.

I accidently bought this book with a reader other than Tull. After about 15 minutes, I had to buy this copy. No author captures the Royal Navy like O'Brian. No reader captures O'Brian like Tull. Aubrey/Maturin & O'Brian/Tull. You'll never think of one without the other once you've listend to this series.

Recall your personal explorations of Joseph Conrad; Lord Jim, Heart of Darkness, et al. Remember how Conrad's descriptive narrative put you in the locales of his protagonists? Now, place Jack Aubrey and Steven Maturin in Conrad's "Orient," and breathe in, observe, and encounter the rich, diverse, yet painful realities of Imperial England's dalliances with India. Blend in storms, battles, and human intrigue...what is your reward? H.M.S. Surprise, a brilliant and insightful examination of the quest for Empire told through the eyes of our beloved Jack and Steven.

If you have made it this far in the Aubrey Series (narrated by Tull) you are richer for it. Keep going, it only gets better.

This is the third book in the series I had finished the first two. It is great to follow them in order. Unfortunately I started toward the end and then saw Audible has them all so started with the beginning and will go forward just skipping the ones I have already read. Patrick Tull is the perfect reader for this series. Love the information about the Royal Navy and the East Indian Company ships. Can not wait to listen to the next one and another trip into history.

The combination of O'Brian's writing and Tull's narration is incredible. It is easy to lose yourself in the story and visualize the battles. The real as life humor builds continually and often bursts at unexpected times.

H.M.S. Surprise is the third in the Aubrey/Maturin series. As with the first two, it is a very realistic (mostly) but fictional story of life in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic era, focusing on the two companions: Capt. Jack Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin.

At the novel's start, Jack's captures from the end of Post Captain are ruled to not be prizes, putting Jack back in debt. Jack's love with Sophie continues while Stephen's romance with Diana flounders. After Jack ends up in debtor's prison, the only escape is a long trip on the Surprise to the Indian Ocean.

Although this is one of a series of novels, it is not essential to encounter them in order (at least, not for the first three; I haven't gone past this one yet). The novels combine to make a full story arc, but each one is its own self-contained story.

Warning about H.M.S. Surprise, and most of O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series: There is a great deal of nautical lingo from the age of sail with absolutely no translation for land-lubbers. If you don't know what a taffrail is, or how to tell a topsail from a t'gallant sail, a translation may be needed. Wikipedia can be your friend.

Patrick Tull's reading is very good; Audible has versions of this book read by Tull and Simon Vance. I feel that Tull is a superior story-teller who brings the book to life; his gravelly voice and (south England?) accent give the book a very nautical flair. But his strong regional accent and the older production quality might make it harder to hear. (Listen to the sample.)

I just finished listening to this book, and it is always frustrating how each book is ended leaving you wanting more. I know this is good because this is a very long series, but it is just a little odd. I have almost two weeks until I can download the next two books, and I dont know how I am going to wait. I am glad the author finaly had jack go on a somwhat normal naval trip. This was a realistic change from bounding here and there, dressing in bear's hides, sleeping with the admiral's wife, and having his ships constantly sunk. Since the name of the ship is in the title I dont think I am giving away too much by saying he kept the surprise in pretty much one piece for most of the story. I once again enjoyed the devolopment of Steven's character in the book, I find him a mystery sometimes. Although I did think this developement of stevens character was at the cost of developing Jack further. I guess this is why it is called the Aubrey/Maturin series, they will just have to share the spot light. Once again, I apreciate the Plot twists the author uses, and the false forshadowing verses true forshadowing. Overall, another good read, and I cant wait to read/listen to the sequal.

I can't say how much I have enjoyed this book. O'Brien keeps the excitement going. There are peaks and troughs, fast paced action and slow times, but always entertaining. Anyone who has ever sailed in the trade winds, or even dreams about such a trip, will know that O'Brien captures it masterfully. I felt like I was back at sea and was nearly pulling my hair out to figure out how to get back out there!

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